U.S. Senate hopeful Jack Kingston stepped up his attacks Wednesday on frontrunner David Perdue, marking the start of what’s expected to be a bruising, nine-week run-off campaign for Georgia’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Kingston, a veteran congressman, and Perdue, a wealthy businessman who billed himself as the senate race’s “outsider,” emerged as the top vote-getters in Tuesday’s crowded GOP Senate primary. The election also ended the congressional careers, at least temporarily, of U.S. Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey.
Kingston and Perdue appeared on television news shows Wednesday morning, as they continued their quest to succeed U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is retiring.
Appearing on both Channel 2 Action News and Fox 5 Atlanta, Kingston decried Perdue’s lack of elected experience.
He also accused his opponent of changing course on issues important to conservatives. The Savannah congressman said voters want a candidate with a proven conservative record instead of someone who “flip flops” on the key issues.
“He had no problem with Common Core and then he walked that back. He said he was a Second Amendment guy and then he walked that back,” Kingston said about Perdue. “We want to consolidate the conservative base and we believe we are the right candidate to do that.”
Perdue, cousin of former Gov. Sonny Perdue, said voters want a change.
“Our purpose was to give the voters of Georgia a choice,” he said Wednesday. “I wanted to give people an alternative, someone who hasn’t spent their career in Washington and running for office, and somebody that had a some free enterprise experience who could bring value to the crisis of the day: the debt, the economy and jobs.”
Perdue finished Tuesday’s race with 31 percent of the vote; Kingston with 26 percent. Both men said they plan to reach out to challenger and former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel for her endorsement.
The winner of July’s runoff election will face Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn in November.
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